Rubatosis
by Mr.Mocha
Summary: "This was wrong. She shouldn't be doing this. But, in his arms, she heard his steady heartbeat. And every beat was a constant reminder that he was here. He was here with her, and for once in her life, Hinata felt safe."
1. Disbelieving

Rubatosis

-::-

Sasuke forgot how long he was there. There — meaning back in Konoha. Back where it all started. The only thing he was aware of was the fact that he was in the hospital. He guessed Naruto did a bang up job on bringing him back by the way he was barely able to open his eyes let alone sit up in the bed. All he felt was the pain shooting throughout his whole body.

The only consolation Sasuke got from this whole ordeal was the idea that Naruto was probably in far much more pain than him. He couldn't even smile at the thought of that — just trying to move the corners of his lips upwards in a mocking manner hurt too much. He was in this hell hole for about a rough 2 months. And he hated every single person here, Naruto being an exception — at times.

Straining his eyes by opening them a little, he stared at the blank white ceiling. It was so fucking bland and he despised it. Just about everything in Konoha made him so sick to his stomach. He couldn't even understand why the hell his brother went to such lengths to protect this disgusting village.

His eyesight blurred and the pristine white of the ceiling began to look like a muddled gray. If he could, he would laugh at himself. Sasuke Uchiha. The last Uchiha, confined in a small hospital room — being taken care of by the people he wanted to kill. Just what was he doing here?

Sasuke took a sharp intake of breath as sudden pain shot throughout his body. He could barely lift his arms, or his head for that matter. All his chakra points were sealed and with every breath he took he felt like he was an inch closer to death. Sasuke bitterly thought that death would have been more enjoyable than being stuck in a village where no one trusts him.

He was back because of the fact that he was the last Uchiha. Sasuke, even though it may be minuscule, did have a heart and he felt that if he died without at least having brought in one more Uchiha into the world, he'd be doing a great disservice to Itachi.

The Uchiha knew no one would believe him if he told them, but he wanted to start over again. He knew that nothing will be back as it used to. He, with his own hands, shattered the smiles of his comrades. No one was going to trust him, and if they actually did, it would take time. The only person who Sasuke was sure was looking out for him was that dumbass Naruto. This whole time, he looked for him.

It sickened him.

Slowly, as the time went by and the clock ticked monotonously, Sasuke's eyesight began to revert the ceiling back to its original white state. He silently wondered who was going to come today — if anyone. On Tsunade's orders, the Rookie Nine was supposed to visit him at least once, for the purpose of trying to obtain information.

'_And keep me company_', Sasuke thought bitterly. He was in no mood for the company of the other ninjas he grew up with. At first, Sakura was a frequent visitor. She'd try to heal minor wounds and bruises that he incurred while tossing and turning in the hospital wound — but other than that there was no interaction. She just watched him with piercing eyes of emerald and he wouldn't even look at her. Perhaps it was to make him feel guilty.

It would work sometimes.

She stopped coming, though. On her last visit, she whispered words that she possibly thought the Uchiha didn't pick up on.

"_Welcome home."_

He laughed bitterly at that, only for his laugh to die out halfway and cause him to cough. He had no home. His family is dead. His village hated him. What kind of home was this? But, he had to admit, there were times when he would laugh around his teammates. There was a time when he was at peace.

Before the memories of the past flooded his mind, Sasuke thought about the other ninja who came to visit him. Kiba and Shino came once. They didn't say much, but Kiba was angry, that much Sasuke could tell. Before they left, Shino told Sasuke a piece of information he wasn't aware of before.

"All of us were ready to kill you. But we didn't. Why? Because of Naruto, who still considered you as a friend." Sasuke heard the hatred laced into the Aburame's steady words. With that said, Kiba rushed out, not wanted to be in the room with Sasuke another second, as Shino walked calmly in his trail.

Neji and Lee came the following week, with stares of disgust. Sasuke assumed the male Hyuuga was the one who sealed his chakra points. He was right about that, since Lee told him. Lee wasn't able to sit around quietly, unlike Neji who judged Sasuke quietly. He would pace around, and actually talk. He told Sasuke how Naruto would so willingly defy anyone for the sake of finding Sasuke. He compared Naruto's loyalty to a flame that never died out, to which Neji uncharacteristically rolled his eyes.

They left, too. One visit and that's it — that's all they were required to do. All of them, except for Sakura (she visited him about 10 times) never came back to see how he was after that one mandatory visit was done and over with. Sasuke didn't care.

He vaguely remembered the time Shikamaru's team came. Ino tried getting into him — into his mind and retrieve information like Tsunade had ordered. She was able to, of course, with Sasuke in his weakened state and what not. But she quickly stopped the jutsu and went back to her own body, screaming hell and profanities, only after a couple of seconds of being 'Sasuke Uchiha'. And all she could do was scream in response. Sasuke, from what he could remember, saw the look of terror in Ino's eyes right before she ran out the room. Shikamaru and Chouji followed after her obediently, not wanting to question the Uchiha.

Ino must have seen just a glimpse of what he did, what he saw, and what he went through.

Before he could delve into his memories a bit deeper regarded the Ino-Shika-Cho team visit, he suddenly remembered one other idiot who visited him — and kept visiting him. The idiot who was heads over heels for the blonde idiot who brought him back.

Hinata Hyuuga.

Reluctantly, he recollected his memory of her first visit. When she had come and sat in the chair placed near his hospital bed, he was somewhat surprised. Before then, he had a vague memory of Hinata. She was someone who didn't fawn over him, but the idiot Naruto. She was someone so helplessly weak, as to get beaten merciless in front of everyone by her own blood. They never talked, save for once or twice, when she would press her index fingers together, and stutter out an annoying, "H-Have you s-seen Naruto today?"

But that day, he realized that she had grown up and left her embarrassing academy self in the past, growing out her hair and not having to twiddle her thumbs or anything. A light shade of pink still dusted her cheeks, and it seemed that she haven't gotten over her stutter, as she greeted Sasuke shakily.

But there was one huge difference he noticed. She seemed more…stronger — or more confident, to be precise. From what Sasuke could recall, the Hinata he was 'knew' was always wavering. But this one, this one was terribly scared of the male Uchiha, but still sat in the chair, her eyes never leaving him. That, and the fact that she smelled like cinnamon buns was different. Despite hating sweet things, whenever the Hyuuga came to visit, the smell of the treat that filled the usually sickly hospital air comforted him.

On that first day, Sasuke disregarded her completely. She didn't really want to be there, obviously. There was fear in her words, but she was still polite.

He was prepared to ignore any questions that he would be asked, knowing that Tsunade probably came up with it. But he wasn't prepared for the question that Hinata would ask.

When she sat down, her hands were shaking a bit, and the smell of cinnamon buns embracing the air between them, Hinata looked at Sasuke who in turn, looked at the ceiling — avoiding eye contact.

"H-How are you?" It was a whisper. But it was loud enough to make Sasuke turn his head a bit in shock, to face the byakugan-user. What surprised him the most was the genuine concern her eyes contained.

He remembered the way her eyes widened when he gave her a menacing glare, making her cheeks gain color. Sasuke could tell she was trying her best to be polite and not look away by the way she fidgeted slightly in her chair.

He didn't answer her question, and averted his gaze from the nervous Hyuuga to the bland ceiling again.

She didn't stop talking. For the hour she was there, the usually quiet room was filled with stuttered out sentences.

"I-It was very sunny today," She always spoke softly. He didn't answer. Sasuke continued to stare at the ceiling. A second later, Hinata had told him she had plans with Kiba, Akamaru and Shino later on that day — they were going to have a picnic.

"I don't give a shit, Hyuuga." Sasuke bluntly pointed out, watching Hinata out of the corner of his eye. He expected her to cry and leave, and never come back. But instead, she did something he never expected she'd do.

She smiled.

He went back to looking at the ceiling, pondering on why she was such a weird girl.

On the end of her first visit, she left some of her handmade ointment on the desk besides Sasuke's bed, informing him it would help with sore spots and bruises if he'd applied it.

He still wouldn't talk, as she said goodbye and left the room.

Remembering all of that made Sasuke a bit tired, as his eyes drooped. He was surprised he had even remembered the things she had said on her first visit.

Sasuke looked over at the table. On it was the small rounded container which encased the ointment that Hinata had given him. He scoffed. How did she expect him to apply it? He could barely move, and the nurses were all deathly afraid of him. They wouldn't even think of talking to him, let alone applying ointment onto his skin.

He knew she had noticed the unopened container during the next few visits, but said nothing about it. She probably thought Sasuke hated her, which wasn't far from the truth. He just didn't hate her as much as everyone else.

And with the door slightly ajar, the smell of cinnamon buns wafted through the sickly hospital air once more this week, and Sasuke looked towards the door expectantly. She must have been here already.

In a matter of seconds, the door was pushed open slowly, and the Hyuuga female that was invading Sasuke's thoughts only moments before, stepped in. Hinata noticed Sasuke looking at her, which surprised her. Her surprise melted into a small smile directed to the former missing-nin, which gained her an unsettling frown from Sasuke, and she closed the door behind her. Sasuke's eyes followed her every movement obediently; he was desperately trying to figure out why she was such a puzzle to him.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke." She greeted him. She offered a polite bow before finding her way to the seat stationed next to his bed.

Silence quickly found a comfortable place to be in between the two. Sasuke took his eyes off of the female and stared blankly at the ceiling, a scowl settling into his features. He really hated her — she was numbingly polite and quiet. She was too innocent. It made him sick to his stomach. Just thinking about it made his frown even deeper.

The concerned Hyuuga watched with worried eyes.

"I-Is everything alright?" She asked, tilting her head a bit to the side as if to get a better view of Sasuke. Sasuke didn't answer her but he did let his frown recede a bit, with it becoming his usual look of discomfort. Although she didn't receive a reply like she had hoped, Hinata was content enough with this and slipped back into the chair comfortably.

And then her hushed ramblings began. She told Sasuke about how she trained with Kiba and Akamaru earlier that day. He would nod once in a while, to show that he was listening, even though he was thinking most of the time, as her words filled the emptiness.

And as Hinata described how Kiba tried to attack her with a swift swipe, Sasuke caught himself looking at her again. She didn't notice, however, since she was absorbed into telling Sasuke how Kiba had fallen instead, and the way Akamaru toppled over him as well.

After that came a soft laugh, which Hinata covered with a hand.

Sasuke felt a sudden pain while he watched the female laugh happily. No worries, no regrets. Can someone live so foolishly like that? Oh, how long has it been since he was able to laugh like that? Laugh about his comrade making a fool out of himself. How long has it been since someone had even trusted Sasuke?

While being immersed in his thoughts, Sasuke didn't realize Hinata was calling him. When he did, she was already hovering over him, a hesitant hand suspended in the air. Pupil eyes looked at him, concern clashing against fear.

When she found Sasuke looking back at her, Hinata let out a surprised 'eek!' and quickly withdrew her hand. With a blink of an eye, she jumped away from Sasuke as if being near him would cause her to incur an incurable disease. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Sasuke didn't know what he was expecting. For someone like him to expect acceptance and forgiveness was certainly a farfetched thought.

He deemed Hinata's fear of him as appropriate.

With her hands furiously playing with the hem of her sweater, Hinata stuttered out an apology.

"I-I-I'm so sorry," She said quickly, "I thought I hurt you or something and —" Hinata quieted herself. She continued to play with her sweater, as she reprimanded herself mentally for being so rude. Yes, she was frightened of Sasuke. But she knew he wouldn't hurt her. Albeit he may have not made a move to injure her yet, most possibly due to his own injuries, she knew he could have still hurt her. But he didn't.

And yet, she let her childish fear of the big bad wolf get the better of her. The wolf being none other than Sasuke, of course.

She shut her eyes, imagining how furious Sasuke must be. Hinata wasn't prepared to see another glare.

Sasuke watched silently as Hinata stood, her hands still clutching onto the hem of her sweater.

He knew he had this effect on people. For them to suddenly just clam up and look at him in fear. It never bothered him before. But seeing someone he'd only been acquaintances with for about a month made him feel uneasy.

He was about to sit up in bed, but a stinging pain shot throughout his body, causing him to fall back down and let out a pained grunt which did not go unnoticed by Hinata. She quickly opened her eyes, and forgot all about being scared in order to approach Sasuke. Her hands slowly released the fabric of her sweater.

She stopped a step away from his bed, wondering whether or not he needed her help.

Sasuke seemed to read her thoughts as he took in her scent of cinnamon buns. He hated sweet things.

He hated her.

Sasuke looked at Hinata in the eye and let down his cool exterior for a second to request something. It was Sasuke's turn to use a hushed tone as he asked, "Can you apply the ointment on for me?"

Hinata's eyes grew wide as she realized this was the first time he had spoken to her. She felt oddly calm by the sound of his rough voice. He felt oddly at peace by the way she gave him his attention — the way she treated him like a person.

Letting her cheeks heat up, Hinata looked away, embarrassed. She never applied ointment to a male — Sasuke Uchiha no less!

Despite all the warning signs in her head, and all the ways this could go wrong, Hinata couldn't stop herself accepting.

Just as Sasuke couldn't help himself inhale the nauseating smell of cinnamon buns.

-::-

**a/n**: gasp! It isn't a one shot! thoughts? Reviews on things that I could improve on? Anyways, thank you so much for reading! As for the fic itself, let's assume that during the weeks that Hinata had visited Sasuke they actually became a bit closer? (although it consisted of Hinata talking only ahh) hopefully, i can actually do a good job on this! Thanks again!


	2. Distrusting

He was able to walk now, albeit he was only allowed to walk around in the small space of his hospital room — confined and trapped in walls of white like a helpless animal. He could also move freely without feeling pain, which was a big improvement for the brooding Uchiha.

It was a slow process — recovering. And Sasuke wasn't much of a patient person. Not only that, but he was certain that Naruto was recovering at a faster rate than him (although he, himself, could not confirm this) and that alone made him angrier than usual. As if the nurses weren't all deathly afraid of him already. Now, Sasuke noticed, they're barely in the room for over a minute. They set down the food and would run out of there, as if he would kill them. They wouldn't even check on his progress or try to make him comfortable.

With the sounds of his footsteps echoing in the room, Sasuke's frown grew a bit deeper. It's not as if he could even kill them even if he wanted to. He was still way too weak to generate a quick, clean kill. They weren't even worth the kill anyway.

It seemed to be around the time Hinata would usually come, but Sasuke wasn't sure. They didn't even let him have a window in his room — in fear that he may escape. He doesn't blame them either. If given the chance, he probably would have left Konoha — _probably._

Ever since he had spoken to Hinata last week, she seemed to want more responses from him whenever she had come over. Usually, she'd go on and on about her boring daily life, while Sasuke gave grunts here and there. But now, he really had to listen to her, or she'd stay silent for the full hour.

And having those Hyuuga eyes stare you down was really uncomfortable, Sasuke had to admit.

Whilst his pacing, he heard footsteps approach the door. Thinking it would be a certain female, he opened the door leisurely before 'Hinata' would knock politely.

Instead of being greeted by dark locks and the smell of something sweet, obsidian eyes took in the sight of pink hair and inhaled the smell of medicine. Her hand, which was in a fist, was currently suspended in the air. She was probably going to knock, Sasuke thought, letting go of the door handle he didn't know he was grasping onto so tightly. After a disorienting second, she quickly displaced her shocked look with one that made her seem apathetic. Unclenching her fist, the medic-nin let her arm fall to her side as she offered a fake smile to her former comrade.

With the smell that screamed 'hospital' finally hitting him, Sasuke reminded himself where he was. And who was in front of him.

"Sakura." He acknowledged her brusquely, unable to handle the smell she was giving off. God, he was acting just like that mutt of a teammate Hinata talks about. The one that was really sensitive to smells. Indicating that she'd like to get in, Sasuke retreated back into the room, with Sakura following in behind him. Sasuke walked back to the bed and sat as he waited for Sakura who was currently closing the door.

In the quiet, he watched his former teammate and her actions.

"It's been a while." She commented, making her way over to Sasuke's bed. He watched silently as she put a strand of her hair behind her ear.

It was still short.

"I guess." Sasuke replied, after a moment of deliberation.

By that time, she was already standing in front Sasuke. For a split second, she seemed a bit taken aback once again, once she had heard Sasuke replying to her.

Sasuke watched as her eyes widened for a second. Back when they were kids, they seemed brighter.

Now they just seem dull.

Laughing off the awkward silence, Sakura spared Sasuke a smile. Her smiles used to be filled with warmth.

Now they just seem to be filled with faked politeness.

Sasuke drilled into his head the fact that he, alone, was the cause of this — the cause of everything. And with the somewhat pitying glance he received from Sakura, he wanted to run. Run and hide. Hide from what he did, and run from who he did them to.

When the hell did he start feeling like this? He was sure the first month he was in Konoha, he didn't give a shit. But now, it was entirely different. And Sasuke had a hunch on why he had '_changed' _in such a short amount of time. Not like he'd ever admit it.

"You'll be able to leave in a week," Sakura informed him. She was now doing what Sasuke was moments before — pacing around the room, harboring a different reason to do it than why Sasuke did it. Sasuke simply wanted to loosen up his muscles and get used to walking.

Sakura didn't want to stay directly in front of the man she tried saving many times.

A minute of silence passed by as Sasuke comprehended what she had said. He was going to be discharged in a week. By then, he would have stayed a rough estimate of 3 months in this hospital. He was giddy at the thought of leaving. Well, as giddy as the lone member of the Uchiha clan can be.

Before he could ask where he would be staying, Sakura answered.

"Tsunade had requested for you to stay at the Uchiha compound. While you were situated in the hospital, she had taken the liberty of cleaning what she could, if there was anything to be cleaned." Sakura explained. This time, she was looking at the wall, as if the solid white wall was so goddamn fucking interesting.

Everything she said to him sounded like it came straight out of a textbook and Sasuke felt himself getting more and more peeved as the clock ticked. But, he deserved it. And in order from lashing out, he needed to keep reminding himself that he indeed deserved any hostility he may receive.

Turning away from the wall, Sakura walked with silent steps. She walked over to the chair near Sasuke's bed. Sasuke got up as she did, and watched her movements keenly. She didn't notice the look Sasuke gave her as she neared the seat. The seat that Sasuke was beginning to believe was reserved for his one visitor.

"You'll be under heavy anbu surveillance and —" Sasuke tuned her out. Before he knew what he was doing, he was already holding Sakura's wrist with a tight grip in order to stop her from sitting. Before he knew what he was doing, he was acting like a selfish little brat. And he shouldn't be. Not after what he had done.

Whipping her head to look at Sasuke, Sakura looked at him with probing eyes. Eyes filled with curiosity, hurt, and regret stared back at him. He dropped her hand as if it had burned him and before he could stop himself, he stated his reason.

"That's Hinata's seat."

If he could take that back he probably would — _probably_.

Although he didn't show it, the second of pure anger that Sakura showed shocked him. And to cover up that anger, a look of a gut wrenching sadness placed itself on the female's face. And the small frown that had settled upon the face of the female seemed to beat Sasuke relentlessly.

"I see." Sakura said listlessly.

She thumbed the back of the chair, examining it all the while. An unsteady, chilling silence fell over them. And then, Sakura sighed.

"How many times had she tried to save you?" Sakura asked. Sasuke didn't answer the sudden question. With her thumb still outlining the figure of the hospital chair, Sakura left all the unsaid things out in the open.

"Did she ever spend nights crying over you?" Sakura questioned. She stopped the movement of her hand and simply rested it on the head of the chair, gripping it somewhat tightly.

Sasuke kept quiet, not knowing what to say. But he knew what Sakura was getting at.

Taking an abrupt turn, Sakura was now facing Sasuke. Both of her hands were clenched into fists, and eyes of emerald were narrowed in anger and frustration.

"I tried _everything_. I was your goddamn teammate. I _still _tried to help you even when you tried _to kill me!_" Her voice was no longer a whisper. It was loud. And regrettably, Sasuke could feel the pain behind the words.

"I was with you all the fucking way!" She took a step forward and was now directly in front of the indifferent Uchiha. He listened, and he understood.

But he didn't know what to say.

Had it been anyone else yelling at him, it probably wouldn't do much. But this was Sakura.

Wait, actually, when Sasuke thought about it, it wasn't Sakura. It wasn't the one he grew up with. The girl standing before him is scarred and in pain.

The Sakura he knew before was happy.

And he had knowingly molded that happy girl into a depressed one.

And yet, he didn't feel that bad. He felt a bit of remorse, yes, but not as much as he should. He was trained to kill, and had betrayed all those who cared for him, after all.

Things like this don't get to the Uchiha.

Suddenly, Sakura jabbed Sasuke's chest with her finger and continued to berate him. He didn't flinch.

"And then Hinata comes along for about what? Two fucking months?" Sakura shouted, unable to contain her anger. Sasuke continued to remain devoid of any emotion which made Sakura even madder. When she asked him if he was going to answer, Sasuke still remained silent.

Removing her finger away from his chest, Sakura felt tears prickling at her eyes.

She wasn't sad.

She was fucking mad.

Not at Hinata, but at Sasuke. After all she had done, all she went through — for him — and he had the audacity to stay silent! It frankly pissed her off. She wanted to skin him alive and make _him _suffer the way he had made _everyone _suffer.

But she couldn't. So instead, with a chakra infused palm, she did the next best thing.

And this time, she was able to evoke emotion from the Uchiha, as he remained stunned from the sudden slap he had received. He couldn't even look at her now.

Feeling oddly at peace now, Sakura smirked, as she brought her arm to her side again.

"You're a piece of shit, Uchiha."

And with that, she was gone.

Even after she left, Sasuke stood silently in the same place. He didn't move. He didn't speak. He just thought and thought.

Even though she was gone, the sting from her slap was still there.

And unbeknownst to him, and the female who had just left, there was a certain Hyuuga that had heard — and witnessed — everything that had occurred.

And said female walked in after a minute or two, trying to compose herself.

Sasuke had only looked up once Hinata had shut the door with a '_click!_' He turned to face her, and immediately noticed the worried look in her eyes.

Hinata greeted him with a smile, both of them awkwardly standing in the middle of the room. Sasuke said nothing, but watched as her eyes flickered to his cheek for a split second. Her carefree smile contrasted with the worried looks her eyes brought.

And he realized that she had known what happened.

He stared her down. She looked everywhere but at him. Approximately 5 minutes past after Hinata's empty greeting was said.

"You were there, weren't you?" He asked.

Quickly, she feigned innocence, as she told him she didn't know what he meant.

What a liar.

Sasuke knew she was bluffing since she started to fidget slightly.

What a bad liar.

"Don't lie to me, Hyuuga." He said. Almost frantically, she denied any accusation of her lying.

God he fucking hated females.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he tried to break her resolve.

Strangely enough, it didn't work. She stood there, trying to make it seem like she was looking at him. But she was actually looking _past _him. What a clever little girl.

Not too fond of liars, Sasuke decided to take matters in his own hands.

Suddenly, his hands were around her neck, making her take a step backward in surprise. He put on the most menacing glare he could muster and directed it on her. Hinata took a sharp intake of breath as he brought his face close to hers. He watched with twisted delight as fear danced across her face.

She was scared, and he knew it.

"I could fucking kill you right now, Hyuuga." He whispered threateningly. She flinched a bit, as much as she could in his grasp, when he had cursed. She didn't necessarily care for profanities. Eagerly, he waited for her reaction. It was a while since he had made someone this terrified and he was having fun — like the sick bastard he was.

But the desired reaction never came. Instead, Hinata's breathing returned to normal and she seemed calm, even though her neck was currently captive.

And with a ghost of a smile, she stuttered, "Y-You wouldn't."

On impulse, Sasuke gripped her neck a bit harder, but not too hard. It probably still didn't even hurt her.

"I killed thousands of others." Sasuke replied chillingly. "What makes you think I can't kill you?"

And without a second to waste, Hinata replied confidently.

"You could have killed me on day one. B- But you didn't."

Her words made Sasuke loosen his grasp as he tried to comprehend what she had said. His hands were still around her neck, however.

Sasuke didn't like being proved wrong.

Probably knowing this, Hinata continued to say something that ultimately shook up Sasuke so bad that he had let go of her.

"A-And I'm starting to t-trust you… a bit." She confessed.

His eyes widening only a bit, while the rest of him looked impassive, Sasuke slowly let his arms fall to his sides, as he replayed her statement.

_Trust. _

He didn't think he'd hear that word directed toward him for a while.

And here stood the timid Hyuuga, with the scent of lilacs clinging on to her desperately, saying she was beginning to trust him. After what? 2 months? 2 and a half months? She trusted _him_?

_Him_.

Sasuke Uchiha — _the traitor._

Sasuke came to conclusion that Hinata was fucked up in a way, and really dumb.

While Sasuke stared blankly at her; Hinata took this chance to step closer to him, her arm outstretched.

And the spaced out Uchiha was dragged back to reality once he felt a cooling sensation on his cheek.

In his peripheral view, he saw her fingers barely touching the cheek where he probably gained a bruise due to the slap.

And that's when Sasuke continued to ask himself one question.

_Why_?

Why was she doing this?

Why was she here?

Tilting her head, Hinata looked at him, her fingers still on his cheek, as Sasuke mentally questioned her motives.

"Does it hurt?"

* * *

**a/n** chapter two wow progress! Anyways I love Sakura to death and in no way was this supposed to turn her into a bitch u_u ! It's just currently vital for her to do this! And for those who think Hinata is trusting Sasuke way too fast — you're right! It's just that in this Hinata is really quick to trust people — no matter what they have done to her. Which proves to be bad in later chapters! Also, thank you guys so much for reviewing, favoriting, subscribing — _everything_! It means soooo much to me. Also, big big big thanks to aisha89 for giving me a helpful suggestion! I would love to know your thoughts guys Thanks again!


	3. Disassemble

It has been three days since the…'incident' occurred with Sakura. It's been three days since Hinata had looked Sasuke in the eyes. Three days too long.

For a reason unexplainable to Sasuke, having Hinata not look at him while she talked to him made him a bit annoyed. And by a 'bit' annoyed, he meant he was furious. It wasn't like he had begged the Hyuuga to touch his cheeks with those soft fingers of hers, and then ask him if he was alright, in a motherly tone.

In a _caring _tone Sasuke never knew he missed.

He looked up once he heard the soft 'clink' of the bottom of his glass hitting the surface of the table. Turning to the source of the sound, was Hinata who had her own glass in her hand, looking at the rim of it. Her fingers were uneasily rubbing against the glass, as if she was trying to smoothen it, or make it even more circular in shape.

"Y-Your tomato juice is in the cup." She announced quietly. Sasuke resisted the urge to cry out in annoyance.

The only thing that kept him from screaming at the girl was the fact that she had brought him tomato juice.

Sasuke disliked a lot of things.

Tomatoes were not one of them.

He swung his legs over the bed, so now they were now barely touching the floor. Careful to not spill any of the tinged liquid, he cautiously gripped the glass and brought it to his lips. After taking a sip, he realized Hinata would do the same.

He took two more.

As did she.

Her politeness was really bugging him. She wouldn't eat if he didn't eat first. She wouldn't drink if he didn't drink first. But, if he had to really ask himself what he thought about it, he knew what he would say.

Before a smile could catch on, Sasuke captured the rim of the glass with his lips again.

_He thought it was very cute._

In a couple of seconds, maybe even a minute or two, Sasuke and Hinata finished their 'beverages'. Hinata did not care for tomato juice, so she simply had water. Sasuke waited until Hinata put hers on the table before he placed his glass next to hers.

Averting his eyes from the two eloquently placed glasses, Sasuke's eyes landed upon the girl again.

And this time, she was looking back at him. But that lasted for a second's notice. Soon enough, her eyes were watching her fingers which barely poked out of her large sweater.

Sasuke was a very apathetic man.

He did not show when he was mad. He didn't express his happiness. Feelings are just not…for him.

But when it came to Hinata, it all just came out. Just something about her annoyed him. But not in the way he got annoyed at Naruto or Sakura or anyone actually.

Hinata was in her own level completely.

"Hinata," his voice called out. Said girl tried to conceal a gasp, but to no avail. Suddenly hearing Sasuke say her name like that scared her or something like that. As she calmed herself down, Sasuke realized she was finally going to look at him again.

"Y-Yes?" It was hesitant, but still a reply from Hinata. She was fiddling with the hem of her sweater again, but her gaze was finally locked on to Sasuke.

"How are you?"

Hinata gave him a confused look. Was this a trick question? Sasuke picked up on her moment's confusion and merely told her to 'answer the damn question'.

Still a bit uneasy, Hinata answered with a meek, "Fine".

"Are you avoiding me?"

He waited patiently for her response. Her eyes stared back blankly at him, with her mouth agape. As if too ashamed to say it out loud, she nodded subtly. Sasuke suppressed an annoyed grunt.

"Do you hate me?" And before he could even blink his eyes, he got an answer he wasn't expecting.

"No!"

It was Sasuke's turn to shoot the girl a confused look. He watched as she tried to gather the words while her cheeks began to pick up color rapidly.

"W-Well, I hate the things you have d-done…but, I-I don't hate you. I d-don't hate you as a person.." Her words trailed off as she cupped her face with her hands, trying to cool them down. Her eyes were now focused on anything but Sasuke, darting all over the place. Gosh, Hinata couldn't stop berating herself mentally on how dumb she sounded. Oh, how she wished she could simply disappear.

Right when Hinata thought the conversation died, Sasuke picked it up again, with another question.

"Then why avoid me? Do I smell or something?" Sasuke tried to induce humor into his menacing questions in order to put the girl at ease and make her more comfortable. It seemed to work, he noted, as she removed her hands from her face and picked up her gaze from the floor.

"N-Not you! I do. I smell like cinnamon rolls and you hate those and I-I didn't want to bother you. A-And I'm pretty sure you hate me.." With a dejected tone that did something to Sasuke, Hinata offered him a small smile.

He fought his hardest not to smile at the first part though.

Before he could stop himself, he started to reject the second part of her statement.

"I don't —"He paused as soon as he saw her expecting expression and her eyes waiting on him. It seemed like she was actually holding her breath too.

Sasuke thought to himself for a while.

Did he hate her?

Can she be placed on the same list as tomatoes?

With a resigned sigh, he breathed out, "I don't hate you."

And suddenly Hinata lit up. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were bright and she just held her red cheeks again as she gave him the biggest smile.

She kept smiling at him and even though it was a bit creepy, and she was being overemotional Sasuke had one word to describe it.

"Cute.." He muttered under his breath, turning his face away, trying to avoid the exuberant energy the kunoichi was giving off.

He really needed to get out of the hospital. He was pretty sure he was the medicine that made him think like that. And say things like that. Because, rest assured, Sasuke didn't find anything or _anyone_ cute.

'_Until Hinata arrived_,' He thought bitterly.

But, he knew what it really was. It was because she was the only person who wasn't revolted at him.

He simply viewed her as a comrade now.

After Sasuke had his own little mental battle with himself, Hinata had calmed down, but still smiling brightly.

Having Sasuke made her so very happy. But if she had to explain why, she wouldn't know what to say. He was arrogant and rude, and he had done disgusting things, but for some reason, she forgets all about that when she's in this hospital room.

She forgets all about that when he gives her subtle smirks.

And Sasuke himself forgets about the things he had done, and who he is, when Hinata smiles at him.

To the two ninja, this one hospital room had served as a little place, a barrier if you may, that kept out all the bad things.

No one was allowed.

It was only Sasuke and Hinata.

And as selfish as it is, Hinata didn't want her new friend to go back into the Uchiha compound in four days.

She wanted to keep this going. Despite all the things people were now saying about her, she wanted to keep meeting Sasuke. She treasures this one hour with the Uchiha, for reasons unknown to her.

And for the rest of the hour, they talked and sometimes sat in comfortable silence.

Hinata would never bring up his past. That's why Sasuke tolerated her.

Sasuke would never comment on how weak she was. That's why Hinata appreciated him.

It was a strange matchup indeed — an Uchiha and a Hyuuga. A goody two shoes and a traitor. But neither was complaining. The baffling aspect of it all intrigued both of them.

Hinata was the one to break the silence, with a few minutes before she had to leave.

"Do you really not m-mind my smell?"

Sasuke thought about it for a bit.

"No. I hate sweets though. But I got used to it."

Hinata perked up at this, and nodded.

And suddenly, Hinata remembered something quite important.

"I'm being sent o-on a mission tomorrow!" She said excitedly. Sasuke didn't share her expression, and instead, put on a bored one. He replied with an 'oh.'

But Hinata took this as an indicator that she could continue to go on, since that's how Sasuke usually responded to her.

"I'll be gone for about four days! I have to pose as a princess and pretend to be Kiba's wife."

Sasuke didn't care for Kiba so all he did was grunt back irritably.

"I'll try to make it in time! S-So you won't be alone when y-you go back to the compound of course," Hinata ended it with an awkward laugh.

Sasuke wouldn't show it, but he hoped that she would be back before then. It would be quite boring without someone besides Anbu escorting him there. And he was pretty sure Naruto would show up too, and he didn't want to be stuck with that bumbling idiot.

After a minute two of somewhat comfortable silence, Hinata got up to leave. She said her goodbyes, and had turned away from Sasuke and started to walk until she felt something cool wrap itself around her wrist.

She turned, her wrist still being held, and was greeted by a Sasuke she wasn't quite familiar with.

She was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her, because she thought she saw pink dust his cheeks.

"Be careful."

If he wasn't basically right behind her, Hinata knew she wouldn't have heard it.

She glanced down at his hand which had eased its grasp on her wrist, but was still holding on.

Feeling a little light headed, she nodded.

They stayed like that for a while, neither knowing what to do.

Hinata looked up and offered him a smile.

Sasuke felt like he couldn't breathe anymore and dropped her wrist in alarm.

He was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was rapidly growing fond of the smell of cinnamon rolls.

* * *

**a/n** okay im so so so sorry for the really short chapter but I put this out so you guys know im alive and stuff! Ahah well this is one of those chapters where nothing really happens but is still kind of important? To the story I guess. I promise I'll be updating quicker now that I'm on spring break! Im hoping to throw out at least 3 chapters or something before break is over! Thanks to EVERYONE who favorited and subscribed!

Thanks to: _921350, HachikoNana, the anons, BubbleWarrior32, Sana B, aisha89, RiverDarkness, umnia, astraea.12 , nuriiko, damnheart.o3, and Inspirational Stars for reviewing! It means sooo much too me_! Love you sweeties!


	4. Discard

Sasuke had prepared himself to be alone for the next four days, when his only visitor would be on a mission. He would have been perfectly okay with that. He was used to being alone, and he didn't need anyone's company. Having Hinata's company was a luxury he didn't quite deserve yet.

But, instead of being alone for the days Hinata was absent, her place was 'filled' in by the very idiot that dragged the Uchiha back to Konoha. And for the first three days of the visits from the unwanted visitor, Sasuke was lectured on how much he was hated in Konoha for what he had done, and how Naruto could not condone his actions, but still had to bring him back.

Sasuke was simply surprised that Naruto had the word 'condone' in his vocabulary.

Right now, Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for the Anbu squad that would be the ones to escort Sasuke to the Uchiha compound. Naruto referred to it as Sasuke's 'home'. Sasuke laughed at that.

Every time Naruto came in to visit him, Sasuke's obsessiveness kicked in. He would expertly hide the chair a certain Hyuuga would normally occupy. And even though he was dense, Naruto had noticed this and he had asked.

Over and over and over again.

He asked so many times in the span of four days that Sasuke felt compelled to answer him.

Of course, Sasuke lied to him and Naruto believed his lie. That was the only good thing about Naruto, Sasuke had to admit. He was pretty damn gullible. And he was almost never serious.

_Almost_.

Even though Naruto can talk up a storm, he would never bring Hinata up. And whenever Sasuke said her name (it was only once or twice that he had), Naruto would scratch the back of his neck and talk about something else. It was if he was avoiding the girl in a way. He probably was, actually.

It was quite odd.

"Sasuke, how are you?" Naruto asked, pacing around Sasuke's hospital room. He donned his regular attire — the one that included an unhealthy dose of orange. His question brought the brooding Uchiha back to reality.

Sasuke squinted at the boy. Even looking at Naruto hurt his eyes. He was way too bright — _literally_.

"How do you think I am?" Sasuke retorted, narrowing his eyes at Naruto. In turn, Sasuke gained another smile from the kid. In a few seconds, Naruto had stopped pacing and sat dramatically into one of the other chairs that faced Sasuke. The way they were situated made it seem like Sasuke was getting interrogated — with Naruto being directly in front of him.

Leaning forward with his arm on his knee, Naruto studied Sasuke closely. Sasuke simply continued glaring.

After a minute or two of silence, he let out a long sigh and leaned back into the chair.

"I guess I can cross happy of the list," Naruto said, crossing his arms across his chest. Sasuke resisted the urge to punch the blonde's grin off his face. He wasn't this stupid — Sasuke (although he wishes he didn't) knew Naruto very well. Naruto was simply trying to create conversation. By the growing smile on the kid's face, Sasuke guessed Naruto felt accomplished.

If there was one thing Naruto hated, it was silence.

And soon after coming back to Konoha, Sasuke realized he hated it too.

He hated it a lot.

In the silence, all Sasuke heard were the remarks people make about him. He heard the screams of people who struggled to get away from him. In the silence, he couldn't run away from the one thing that truly frightened him — everything that he was.

But sometimes, silence was what he needed.

Around certain people, the silence was almost comforting.

Around Hinata, the silence seemed to put him at ease. Why? Sasuke didn't know. He doesn't want to know, either. Usually, knowing the truth behind something destroys the pretense and beauty of it.

He wasn't trying to be poetic about it. Sasuke just wants to be okay for once, even if it's a counterfeit content feeling that he gets.

From time to time, Sasuke would sit unmoving, thinking about absolutely nothing. A nothing that seemed to nullify everything besides Sasuke, a nothing that Sasuke found himself wanted to fall into. Half the time Sasuke would do it, he'd forget Naruto was even in the room. And then, he'd snap back into reality and be met with curious blue eyes.

"Hey what was that?" Naruto asked Sasuke, referring to his little 'daydream'. Sasuke ignored him, yet again. He was trying to sink back into the easing silence, but this time, his thoughts couldn't keep quiet. Right now, they were nosily humming away in his mind. Questions like, 'What are they doing' swirled in the space of his mind. Question after question kept popping up in his mind. Except, as the clock ticked, the word 'they' quickly changed into 'her'.

And the fuzzy outline that took over his mind grew hair and gained a striking resemblance to someone Sasuke hasn't been seeing lately.

Softly pressing his fingers against his cheek, Sasuke tried denying that he was actually thinking about the smell of cinnamon buns. But then, the Uchiha began to remember how her cool fingers had applied ointment on his bruises. The way her hair would move with her, in a graceful, sweeping motion.

The way Hinata's voice would push Sasuke to a calming state that would tempt him to fall asleep.

He remembered how little her footsteps were, but how loud they were to him.

And suddenly, Sasuke, with his fingers beginning to slowly dig into the skin of his cheek, realized something quite shocking. He suddenly missed having the smell of cinnamon buns.

The scent was disgustingly mind-numbing to him.

Naruto watched on, curious and worried at the same time. He tried remaining quiet, which was very hard for him, but it seemed like Sasuke was deep in thought. Naruto was afraid that if he disturbed Sasuke right now, Sasuke would make sure Naruto didn't leave the hospital today. And so, the blonde let his friend swim in his thoughts for a bit — until his friend began to unconsciously scratch his face with one hand.

At first, Naruto watched in amusement as Sasuke had started to scratch himself rather vigorously. It was a real sight to see — especially since Sasuke's apathetic expression didn't match the way his fingers were currently implanting themselves into his face. Now, Naruto found everything funny, to be honest. But this time, it really did take Naruto all his strength to not burst out laughing.

Instead, after a few seconds of watching Sasuke attack himself, Naruto brought the Uchiha back to his senses.

"Hey Sasuke, you okay?"

Said person blinked once, and straightened himself up, while removing his hand away from his face. He glared at Naruto who sheepishly smiled. The question still hung in the air, and Sasuke decided to leave it at that. Naruto didn't push any further. He was simply content with Sasuke being alive and being in…_Konoha_.

Right now, they sat in the uncomfortable silence and waited for the Anbu to come. The two began to become immersed in their thoughts again.

Every now and then, Sasuke would catch Naruto looking out of the corner of his eye, letting them stop roaming as soon as they had landed upon a certain chair. The discomfort on his face whenever he did look at the chair had certainly intrigued Sasuke.

Slowly averting his eyes, Naruto looked at the palm of his hands, unfocused.

Come to think of it, Sasuke has been relatively calm.

Blonde brows furrowed as Naruto thought. He recalled the chair belonging to a certain someone. The name had escaped him but it was on the tip of his tongue. Trying to recall, Naruto unclenched and clenched his fist. Clench, unclench.

And then that's when it hit him.

His blue eyes shifted from his palms to Sasuke, who sat across from him. His face was lacking emotion, although his eyes were studying the unoccupied chair in the corner of the room. Despite Sasuke looking rather unfazed, Naruto knew better.

His eyes traveled down to Sasuke's hand. His fingers were digging into the bed slightly, as he gathered a fistful of the sheet in his hand.

Naruto looked back up at Sasuke, and narrowed his eyes.

He noticed the way his frown grew a little deeper for a seconds notice.

Naruto dropped his gaze and instead looked at the floor of the hospital room. He knew why Sasuke was like this. And who made him like this. Naruto's eyes zeroed in on a tile whose paint began to chip in the corner.

Sasuke was worried about Hinata.

Naruto clenched his fist again, and this time, it remained clenched. It remained clenched for the whole time Sasuke and Naruto were stuck in that room. Sasuke's own confusion tormenting him, and Naruto simply frustrated for reasons unknown.

Neither would say it, but both of them were relieved once the Anbu squad had arrived with Tsunade.

After a lengthy speech delivered by Tsunade to Sasuke, Tsunade gave the Anbu her okay to take Sasuke away.

Naruto took the liberty to walk beside Sasuke as he was escorted to the Uchiha compound. Two Anbu members were positioned in front of Sasuke and Naruto, and two behind. The usually boisterous and loud roads of Konoha hushed in the presence of the lone Uchiha. People talked in quiet murmurs, eyes glued to Sasuke. He knew they were staring, but he didn't really care right now.

His mind was occupied with other things.

Naruto kept watching Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, wanting to say something. Wanting to break this disgusting silence. But, just like everything else the two did together, Sasuke beat him to it.

Sasuke looked ahead at the backs of the two Anbu squad members in front of him, and had asked them a question.

"Would any of you know If Team 8 was back from their mission?" Naruto resisted the urge to shoot Sasuke a confused expression.

What was going on between him and Hinata? Before Naruto could think any further, he forced the thoughts about the subject to stop. Reality is reality, of course. Sasuke is Sasuke. Hinata is Hinata. There would be no way Sasuke would actually require her company.

He was simply lonely. Or, that is what Naruto made himself believe for the time being.

After a minute of silence (and of Sasuke's continued stare directed at the backs of the Anbu in front of him) Sasuke was delivered an answer. As they kept walking through the silent roads of Konoha, one of the masked nin shifted slightly so now the profile of their (masked) face was shown to those behind them.

"They arrived this morning." Judging by the voice of the member who spoke, Sasuke assumed he was a male. He didn't realize the noise he kept hearing was the repetitive beat of his heart until he had heard what was said next.

"One of them was badly injured."

Sasuke would have asked more, but suddenly, it seemed like his throat had dried up. He kept his mouth shut, and continued to walk. The Anbu turned back to walking straight, clearly ending the 'discussion'.

Naruto remained silent for the rest of the journey to the compound, knowing what Sasuke must have been thinking about. Now that he had the time to think about the whole situation, Naruto deemed it reasonable that Sasuke would feel somewhat 'attached' to Hinata. She was the first to open her arms to him after he had come back, besides Naruto of course.

Sasuke was simply lonely.

Naruto watched as the male behind him began to develop a more off-putting frown on his face.

He was just lonely, right?

As they had neared the compound, something was amiss.

Naruto, surprisingly, was the first one to notice it.

"Why are there drops of blood?" He asked, a bit wary.

He stepped onto a drop, and heard a little '_squish_'. '_Fresh blood?_' Naruto thought, trying to make sure to avoid stepping on anything else.

The Anbu in the front turned to each other, and talked for a bit. They mentioned how it was spotless when Tsunade had ordered her men to clean it. And there were also a squad making sure no one came near the compound during the night.

When they were only a couple of feet away was when Sasuke suddenly stopped walking for a second. Naruto slowed down, looking at him, worried. His eyes were alert, and he seemed to be looking for something.

Before he had run off in front of Naruto and the Anbu squad, Naruto heard a hushed whisper escape the Uchiha's lips.

"_Hinata._"

Sasuke didn't follow the little circles of red on the ground of his former home, but followed the smell of cinnamon buns. He heard the Anbu squad and Naruto getting closer, but it didn't matter. In a matter of seconds, in a secluded area of the outside area of the compound, was someone Sasuke had feared the worst from.

He slowed down from a sprint to a frantic (well, as frantic as Sasuke could get) walk, towards her.

She was crouched down over the Earth, her back to Sasuke, as she placed seeds into a hole she had dug. Sasuke stopped right before her, examining how she patted the ground over the hole. He saw the tint of red underneath the dirt that covered her pale fingers. She had only gotten up and looked behind her once she had heard the Anbu squad yelling Sasuke's name.

Hyuuga eyes met Uchiha eyes once more.

'_It's been only four days' _Hinata thought sheepishly, as the corners of her lips threatened to turn upwards, _'I shouldn't feel quite this giddy_.'

Silence befell them. They simply looked at each other, unmoving.

Sasuke stared at the girl before him. He was suddenly very aware of how small she really was. How small and fragile. He was suddenly very aware of his own heartbeat as well.

It seemed to quicken as the seconds dragged on. But time seemed to slow down as he stepped toward her, his eyes taking her in.

She was hurt.

He saw the cut on her leg. The way it ripped through her clothes.

She was hurt, and yet she was still smiling.

The scent of cinnamon buns he had grown accustomed to was accompanied by the stench of sweat and blood this time.

How long has it been since he had caused someone else pain?

Not that long.

But why did seeing Hinata in this tattered state do this to him?

Why was he fighting the urge to _hold her_?

The Uchiha was conflicted on what to do. Here she was, standing before him. She was in pain. But she was here for him. How long has it been since someone had showed him such kindness?

It has been a very long time.

The Anbu were already there now, witnessing the whole thing. Naruto held them at bay, aware that neither the Hyuuga nor Uchiha realized that they were there. He was curious as to how this would all play out.

In a somewhat steady voice, Hinata whispered, "I promised I'd be here."

And that's when Sasuke stopped trying to resist the smell of cinnamon buns, even if it was combined with blood and sweat. He simply reached his arm out, and done something shockingly uncharacteristic.

He pulled her in to a one armed embrace, which Hinata didn't return due to shock — shock that Sasuke was touching her willingly.

Strands of her hair found themselves stuck to the Uchiha's back. His own hair brushed past the side Hinata's face as he lowered his lips to her ears.

And for the first time, Hinata had heard _the _Sasuke Uchiha pleading for something.

His grip on her tightened just a little bit.

He whispered, "Please don't ever stop smelling like cinnamon buns."

Lowering her face into Sasuke's sleeve, Hinata smiled against him, and returned the hug.

If someone asked Sasuke why he was hugging Hinata right now, he really wouldn't know what to say,

He missed the smell of cinnamon buns. He missed just the smell and nothing else. Of course, that's what he would tell himself. Just like how Naruto was telling himself that Sasuke was simply someone very lonely as he watched the embrace silently.

Sasuke was just a very, very lonely boy.

That's why they were hugging.

He hoped.

* * *

**a/n **im so sorry for the late update wow ;; life has been hectic for me and ugh im really sorry! Thank you for all your kind words and suggestions. It means sooo much to me that you guys actually take your time to read this! Ah I love you guys so much wowowow! When you guys review, fav, or follow the story it just makes me so gosh darn happy and I honestly don't know how to convey how much it means to me. Thank you so much, sweethearts! Ill try to update weekly now? Yeah goals for mir woo!

Thank you to: MercenaryFem, umnia, Sana B, Inspirational, Delicatelyplaced, RiverDarkness, Ro0w'z, 921350, The Endless Sea of Blue, damnheart.o3, BubbleWarrior32, VitalInfo3, MiNKy307, HeartBrokenHinata, kawaii-sama25 and all the guests for reviewing! Wow you guys are honestly super super sweet and I just want to love you guys forever!

Suggestions are welcome!


	5. Disagreement

Naruto had managed to wedge himself between the Uchiha and Hyuuga as they maneuvered themselves into the Uchiha compound, with the Anbu leading the way. The squad deployed to watch over Sasuke had collectively decided that the Uchiha was smart enough not to make a break for it now. Plus, Naruto wouldn't let his 'friend' escape him once more.

The squad talked in somewhat hushed tones concerning what had happened only moments ago. Among the whispers, 'Hyuuga girl' and 'Uchiha' were thrown around mercilessly. Naruto glanced at his right to view Sasuke, who seemed unfazed by the whispers. More cautiously, he shifted and turned his head so he was able to see Hinata. Unlike Sasuke, Hinata was still visibly shaken up with what had happened, with her cheeks seeming as though they won't lose their rosiness anytime soon. Naruto decided to look away, and instead, ponder over things. Things like the 'relationship' between Sasuke and Hinata.

The Anbu squad found themselves within the compound first, and had waited to the side for the other three ninjas who trailed behind. Uneasiness began to eat away at Hinata as they walked in. How long has it been for Sasuke? Since he has seen these very walls? No matter what she had tried to do, her mind has been occupied with thoughts of the man — thoughts of Sasuke.

Every time she found herself thinking of him, Hinata had tried to associate him with what he really was — a traitor. He was someone who had caused many people heartache. Slowly, her eyes traveled down to her hands.

Someone who had bloodied their hands with no thought of doing good.

And yet, Hinata realized, she wasn't able to maintain the image of a Sasuke like that in her mind. All she remembered was how he had listened to her as she talked about the weather, while he was still in the hospital. All that she could remember was the fact that he didn't seem disgusted by her. And more recently, someone who had really noticed her liking for cinnamon buns.

As quickly as the thought fluttered in, Hinata shut it out. And instead of thinking of Sasuke, she focused on getting her cheeks back to their usual color, and tried to calm herself.

Give or take a few seconds, which seemed like quite the number of minutes to the three who were walking oddly in a line, they found themselves within the inner walls of the Uchiha compound.

The Anbu squad members told Sasuke that he'd be under surveillance, until further notice. Hastily, and coldly, they told him that the compound was somewhat cleaned by other members, and they had told him to be on his best behavior — as if he was merely a child being reminded by his mother.

And with nothing to add, they left the compound. And within it remained Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke. By now, they were no longer in a line, but were still huddled awkwardly around each other. Naruto made sure that Hinata wasn't too close to Sasuke, silently volunteering to be the barrier between the two. Hinata's eyes roamed around the room, as she played with the hem of her jacket due to habit.

Soon enough, her eyes landed on Sasuke. Hinata realized Sasuke hadn't stopped looking straight ahead since he had gotten here. Before she could say anything, Naruto beat her to it.

His eyes locked onto her leg, where the cut embraced the air shamelessly.

"Hinata, are you alright?" He asked, causing Sasuke to look toward her. Impassive as ever, he glanced at the cut. Quickly shifting her injured leg slightly, Hinata raised her hands as if she was refusing something.

"Y-Yes!" She replied a bit too soon, adding a nod for good measure. "I'm quite alright!" It was true. Although it looked deep and painful, her cut was no big deal. But, if she had to admit something, she'd admit that it having the once warm blood that trickled down her leg hold onto her skin so greedily was rather uncomfortable as it dried onto her skin. Other than that, she had no complaints.

Her worries lied with Sasuke, she admitted hesitantly within the secrecy of her thoughts.

Inconsiderate as it may be, Naruto wasn't heavily worried over Hinata's injury. Rather, he wanted to talk to Sasuke alone — about everything. He just really needed Hinata out of the room.

Displaying his usual smile, Naruto insisted that Hinata should have it looked at by one of the Anbu squad members.

"There should be one out there," Naruto said. "You should really go, Hinata! It's not good to be hurt!" Also what had seemed to be due to a force of habit, Hinata's cheeks gained a slight innocent red to it as Naruto continued to smile at her. The corners of her lips twitched — the first steps to a shy smile, which she quickly put a stop too. Naruto's smile was infectious and it always did have quite a hold on the Hyuuga female.

Blinking once, Hinata decided to give in to the persistent blonde.

"Then, I suppose I'll be back l-later," she announced. Naruto gave her a supportive thumb up, with the smile still plastered on his face. Hinata replied to his eager response with her own shy smile, this time not being able to stop the urge to smile back. Hinata looked at Sasuke, who looked at her. Images of what had happened flashed through Hinata's mind and she bit her bottom lip unconsciously. Sasuke looked at her, a bit amused.

Noticing the little smirk Sasuke was displaying, Hinata quickly relinquished her bottom lip and turned on her heel, almost rushing out of the room. As he watched Hinata leave, Sasuke decided to drop his smirk and go back to his indifferent self. It was awkward, to Sasuke, being in this house. The house he grew up in. He clenched his jaw, as he tried to keep the memories at bay.

If Sasuke were to have a weakness, this house would be his Achilles heel.

And if he could have had it his way, he would have never come back here. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. He had almost forgotten that Naruto was there, watching him with eyes full of suspicion, until Sasuke attempted to walk away.

That was when he had felt something grab hold of his arm, _tightly_.

Going back into his original position, Sasuke shot Naruto a look. And yet, Naruto would not yield. He glared at Sasuke, and began to squeeze his arm even tighter, whether or not on purpose. Sasuke repaid Naruto's look with a look of disgust himself.

"_We need to talk_." Naruto said under his breath. It was loud enough for the two of them to hear. Sasuke wrenched his arm out of Naruto's grasp and snickered.

"I'd rather not," Sasuke retorted. And yet again, Sasuke turned around. This time, Naruto didn't hold on to his arm to prevent him from leaving. Sasuke began to walk; he wanted to go further into the compound. To see if anything has changed.

To see if he was truly alone.

But Naruto's voice is what pulled him back this time.

"We need to talk," Naruto repeated, "about _Hinata_." He had made sure to put enough emphasis on Hinata's name, knowing it would catch Sasuke's attention. This alone was enough to make Sasuke think twice. Just the sound of her name was able to make him hesitate.

Just who was she? How was she able to incur such a response from the Uchiha?

Sasuke turned to face Naruto. He was only a couple of steps away. Naruto walked closer to him, the light thud his footsteps created resonating in the somewhat hollow room. He stopped walking towards Sasuke once they were only a footstep away from each other.

"Stay away from her," Naruto advised.

Sasuke simply stood there, letting Naruto's words sink in.

Who was he to tell him to _'stay away'_? This was coming from the guy who couldn't realize Hinata was head over heels for him. This whole situation was hilarious. To think that Naruto assumed that Sasuke had any intentions to string Hinata along was completely pathetic.

Sasuke was used to being alone. He didn't need her.

'_But there's a difference between want and need_,' his thoughts reminded him.

Before silence could creep in and smother the two, Naruto, realizing Sasuke won't reply, continued to talk.

"Stop while you're ahead, Sasuke." Naruto said, his tone getting serious.

In order to stop Sasuke would have had to start something — which he did not. Sasuke listened quietly, but decided he would not entertain Naruto by replying.

"You do this to everyone," Naruto went on. "You pull them in. You make them really care about you, even though you're just a real piece of shit, Sasuke. You make them think they mean something to you,"

Naruto stepped closer to Sasuke.

"And just when you have them where you want them, you cut them off."

Clenching his fist, Naruto sighed.

"You just… cut them off. You don't look at them when you do, though. Maybe you do have a heart, Sasuke. Maybe that's why you leave all the people you hurt to suffer by themselves so _you _don't have to see what _your _actions did to them."

Now, Sasuke was a bit stunned at how serious Naruto was being.

Then again, this is the only guy who was able to bring him back here.

"What I'm saying is," Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, causing Sasuke to tense up. Being touched this familiarly caused his feelings to stir, even though he did just hug someone earlier today.

"Leave Hinata alone." Naruto pleaded. "Don't bring her into your fucked up game. She's too nice for your shit, Sasuke. Don't play around with her. She's fragile."

Sasuke's eyes widened for a second, before going back into its usual glaring position. Hinata and fragile didn't belong in the same sentence.

Hinata was far from fragile. If she was truly weak and fragile, she wouldn't be able to put up with him. She would have walked away the first time she had come to visit him in the hospital, and yet, she stayed. She wasn't fragile, just incredibly dumb and nice.

Just like the person in front of him.

"Just quit fucking around before you hurt her, Sasuke." Naruto whispered. "If you don't leave her alone, I'll make you."

Empty promises?

Sasuke doubted it.

Naruto wasn't the one to deliver empty promises or threats. He was just a great fucking guy, a man of his word.

No wonder Hinata liked him.

With that final thought, Sasuke shrugged him off, and gave Naruto a condescending look.

"She's not fucking fragile, idiot." Sasuke said under his breath.

Before Naruto could reach out and touch Sasuke again, his sharingan was already activated. Naruto realized that he couldn't get through to Sasuke now. Not like this.

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked coldly.

With the very quiet footsteps that made tracks in Sasuke's mind, Hinata walked into the compound cautiously.

Sasuke lifted his gaze off of Naruto to look at her, causing Naruto to follow his gaze and turn to watch as Hinata walked toward the two of them.

"A-Ah, sorry for taking so long," Hinata apologized. She smiled sheepishly and told them that there was a medic around who healed her right up. It was true, seeing that her cut was merely a faint line now.

Naruto nodded awkwardly. He still felt like Sasuke was staring at him, even though he wasn't.

"I'll get going then!" Naruto exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck. He laughed and double checked Hinata was alright. Whilst saying his goodbyes, Naruto's smile fell once he reached Sasuke.

His eyes seemed to grow cold as he stared into Sasuke's sharingan ones.

And within minutes, Naruto was long gone. Hinata gave Sasuke worried looks. He blatantly ignored her.

This caused Hinata to come closer to Sasuke, and lay a small hand on cheek. She had sensed that he was troubled. He reacted as if her hand was on fire, taking a step back.

"Sasuke?" She questioned, finally realizing his sharingan was on.

Every time she stepped closer, Sasuke took a step back.

"Get away from me," he warned.

She kept coming closer.

"Get out Hyuuga. I'll hurt you, I really will." He threatened.

Hinata didn't seem to mind, as she took another step towards him.

That's when Sasuke had raised his hand, ready to strike. Hinata calmly stepped closer. His arm remained suspended in air, his body slightly shaking.

Why couldn't he hurt her?

She tiptoed to bring his arm down to his side. He didn't resist.

Hinata looked up at him.

"I know your eyesight has worsened." Hinata said softly. "P-Please refrain from using the sharingan."

Hinata waited, her head tilted up a bit so she can see him, until he had stopped using the sharingan. When his eyes returned to normal, his dark eyes bore into her light ones — a stark difference.

Offering a smile, Hinata placed her hand on his cheek reassuringly. He didn't pull away.

"It's o-okay Sasuke." She said. "It doesn't matter if you hurt m-me or not." Sasuke resisted the urge to put his hand over hers. He felt strangely calm, with her soft fingers touching his skin.

"I'm not abandoning you." She whispered.

Sasuke closed his eyes.

He reflected on himself and realized one more thing.

If he were _truly _to have only one weakness, he knew what his weakness would be.

Hinata Hyuuga.

* * *

**a/n **How long has it beeeeen omg im really sorry guys my life has been really hectic now but oh gosh you guys have been so nice to me and your reviews are always so sweet and cute and im just so happy my readers are the best readers in the world wow! I love you guys a lot! I actually have a bunch of stuff to say but ill save that for a later date! This chapter is really choppy wow im sorry ;; thank you for all the love and support!


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